mdzu

Hello,

1991 Toyota Pickup DLX 4x4 22R-E 5MT @ 185K

I have been having a problem with my power steering system. Below I have a detailed timeline of work done on the vehicle.

500 miles ago - new re-manufactured box from 4Crawler

- Old box was leaking fluid very badly. I paid a shop (lack of time) to install the box and a new high pressure line (Gates).

Now - Fluid has been foaming. I can't comment on if this was happening before the box was replaced; but it is certainly happening now. @ cold temperatures I will have intermittent power steering (no boost) during turns. Eventually, it seems that my power steering will get a grip on itself and it'll be generally in working condition but groaning a lot.

Now - Replace bearing in Idler Pulley. No change.

Now - Replace power steering pump. No change.

Now - Replaced all lines (reservoir->pump, 2x box->reservoir). No change.

I am still getting air whipped in to the ATF. It seems like the fluid will not aerate as quickly (or at all) if I don't turn the wheel. Lifted up on jacks I can run the car and turn the wheels left/right/left/etc. and will eventually aerate the ATF enough to have it overflow the reservoir once I turn off the engine. If I stop, I can then turn the wheel left/right/left/etc. while the engine is off and it will "glug" air up through the system and in to the reservoir lowering the fluid level.

I'm at wits end about what I can do here. I suppose there's either air in the system or getting introduced in to the system. I have not yet tried to connect a vinyl tube to the bleed valve on the box as it seems from everything I read that this is entirely unnecessary. I've had it up on jackstands for two days and probably tried the left/right/left/etc. bleeding procedure about 15 times.

Any tips/help is appreciated.

Thank you in advance!

mdzu

Hello all,

For whomever may read this in the future when they are frustrated with the power steering not bleeding properly...

I ended up using the bleed valve that is on top of the power steering box. It points towards the cab. I connected a 5/16 clear tube from Home Depot and ran it in to a bottle with clean ATF. The bleeder is 8mm and you can slip a box end wrench over it before you start. I had another individual help turn the wheel (w/ the engine on) all the way to lock and then wiggle the wheel back and forth so that it would hit the maximum lock over and over with the bleeder open. At first, there was so much air in the box that I didn't even see any fluid and wasn't sure if the bleeder was opening enough. It happened that it was working but there was just that much air trapped in the valving of the gear box. Continue to crack the bleeder at full lock when there is pressure in the box and eventually the air will stop (it took about 15 minutes for us to have no more air).

My power steering works better than it ever did with this new box. I'm thinking the shop I paid to install the box did not do a proper bleed - that's the only way I can imagine there being so much air in this box.

Good luck to everyone!

rattlewagon

Nicely done figuring it out!

mdzu

Hello rattlewagon,

Thanks for the kudos! I was scratching my head on how there could be so much air in there that just running the power steering lock-to-lock on the stands didn't do it any good. Now I know.

It's definitely good courtesy to reply to your posts w/ a solution as I've hit a lot of dead-end posts on various forums where they've had whatever issue I'm having.

Happy holidays & cheers!